GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Despite being neck and neck for the last 36 minutes of the game, an early 12-0 run out of the gate for Aquinas was all they needed to beat the Goshen women's basketball team 64-53 on Tuesday night.
The Maple Leafs were quickly outscored 12-0 in the first three minutes and forty seconds. "We came out in a zone defense to try and prevent their dribble drive offense from getting in the paint," head coach
Stephanie Miller explained. "They didn't get the paint, but they hit three straight shots over the zone which forced a timeout and a quick change of defense."
Goshen recovered with full-court pressure to slow down the Saints' hot shooting early on. For the rest of the game, it was Goshen that outscored Aquinas 53-52. The early deficit was too much for Goshen to come back from though, and Aquinas went on to win their fourth straight game in this young season.
Taniece Chapman ended the game with a double-double – scoring 13 and grabbing 11 boards.
Graysen Cockerham was on the verge of a double-double with 12 points and nine rebounds.
Syanne Mohamed brought down ten rebounds in just 21 minutes of playing time.
Goshen relied on getting points in the paint – they made up 30 of the team's 53 points. The Leafs also had 27 offensive rebounds which allowed them to take 29 more shots than Aquinas. But despite Goshen's second-chance points, the Saints shot the ball more efficiently. Aquinas 46% and even better from the three-point line at a 57% clip. It helped that Daz'Sha Day made eight of her nine three-point attempts. Goshen was 29% from the field and 20% from three.
"We took good shots overall," Miller said. "We just need some kids to knock them down so we can take a little pressure off the defense."
Aquinas is now 3-0 at home and 5-2 overall. Goshen falls to 3-4 as they now start to play some Crossroads League games. You can watch the women in action on Saturday, November 20 at 1:00 pm in Goshen when they take on Saint Francis (Ind.). The men's portion of the doubleheader will take place afterward at 3:00 pm.
